Tiger II
- Porsche Turm= }} |designer = *Henschel & Son / Krupp (turret) |production = 1943–1945|engine = V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 gasoline 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) |armament =492 |armour = Turret Front: 185mm Side: 80mm Back: 80mm Hull Front: 150mm Side: 80mm Back: 80mm |speed = *41.5 km/h (25.8 mph) (road) *15-20 km/h (9.3-12.4 mph) (off-road) |known_users = |country_of_origin = Nazi Germany |main_armament = 1 x 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71|secondary_armament = 2 × 7.92 mm MG34 |user = Kuromorimine Girls Academy |weight = 69.8 tonnes (Serien Turm) |length/width/height = *Length : 10.29m *Width : 3.76m *Height : 3.09m}} The Tiger II (official designation: Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B; ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 182), also known as Königstiger'' (German name for Bengal tiger; mistranslated by Allied soldiers/intelligence as '''King Tiger), was a German heavy tank and the successor of the Tiger I. Carrying the most effective gun and armor, it became one of the most famous tanks of the war. It first appeared in the anime in Episode 10. History From 1937-1943 a new project had been started to gradually create new heavy tanks, with two manufacturers involved during the development (Henschel and Porsche). After the introduction of the Tiger I in 1942, they received a new order to develop a new, heavier tank with higher performance than the current Tiger I. The Henschel Tiger II was selected for production, being more conventional than the complicated Porsche Tiger II. The tank was armed with a longer 8.8 cm gun than the Tiger I's, the 8.8 cm KwK L/71 Gun, with very high penetration values at long distance and protected by 150 mm sloped frontal armor. The early version was fitted with a rounded frontal turret (called a "Porsche" Turret) which had a conspicuous shot trap; later, the late version had an upgraded, flatter turret (called a "Henschel" turret) which solved the problem. The propulsion system was based on the Maybach HL 230 P30 engine, which however was underpowered and featured high fuel consumption. The suspension was a torsion bar design, with road wheels only overlapping and not interleaved as on the Tiger I. The Tiger II proved to be difficult to produce, and costly to maintain, with its high fuel consumption and careful maintenance. By 1945, a total of 492 Tiger IIs had been built. Also, with the war turning against Germany, every Tiger II''' lost in combat was irreplaceable. Some have suggested that the resources spent for the Tiger II would have been better to be spent to produce cheaper, more cost-effective vehicles such as StuG III and Hetzer. The Tiger II came with a tank destroyer variant, one of the most powerful vehicles produced during the WWII, the Jagdtiger. Weighing in at about 70 tons, the Tiger II was assigned only to separate heavy tank battalions. After initial teething troubles and reliability issue, both on the Western and the Eastern Front, it proved to be superior to any allied tanks operational at the time. Its gun could defeat any Allied tanks from a distance, while its frontal armor was very strong to deflect the enemy fire. But due to its low mobility, it could be easily flanked by fast tanks. In Girls und Panzer Kuromorimine Girls Academy operated some Tiger IIs (recognizable as the model produced from June to September 1944 by the nine sprocket teeths and the car jack at the rear). It's effectively used as a long range tank sniper and breakthrough tank, although it easily suffers from high fuel consumption and dislodged road wheels. During the finals against Ooarai Girls Academy, 2 Tiger II were fielded, one of wich was commanded by Kuromorimine's vice commander Erika Itsumi. The Tiger II proved lethal at long range; during the ambush from the forest, they were attempting to snipe Ooarai's flag tank (Panzer IV), but accidentally took out the Type 3 Chi-Nu instead. Its weakness was revealed when, attempting to pursue the fleeing Ooarai force, one of Erika's road wheels got disconnected and fell off; this was pointed out by Darjeeling as the trade off for fielding heavy tanks to counter Pravda Girls High School, concluding that Kuromorimine was less able to cope with the mobile warfare employed by Ooarai due to that decision. During the battle in the urban area, the Tiger IIs were seen splitting up in formation with some Panthers and Jagdpanzer IVs behind them to chase the remaining Ooarai tanks such as the Duck Team's Type 89B, while Erika's Tiger II and other Kuromorimine tanks tried to break through the barricade of the Tiger (P) to where the two flag tanks were fighting. Erika's Tiger II eventually forced its way into the area by climbing over the knocked out Tiger (P) to pass through faster, but it was just too late to affect the outcome of the flag tank duel. Trivia * The tank being informally called ''Königstiger (German name of the Bengal Tiger) by Germans have been literally mistranslated by Allies as Royal Tiger and sometimes wrongfully called King Tiger. * The Tiger II is one of the few tanks with the Tiger I, B1 bis and BT-42 to possess a steering wheel. References *Tiger II (Wikipedia) *Tiger II Specifications (WWIIVehicles) *Tiger II Official Anime Web (GirlsUndPanzer) *Tiger II (Tank Encyclopedia) Gallery Category:Tanks Category:German Tanks Category:Heavy Tanks Category:Kuromorimine Girls' High School Category:TemporaryCategory